Film perforating machine



July 12,1960

Filed Nov. 22, 1957 w. M. THOMPSON, JR, ETA!- FILM PERFORATING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 WILL/AM M. I THOMPSON JR MART/N KRON DAV/D 5'. SMITH INVENT RS Q J M a MM ATTORNEYS July 12, 1960 Filed NOV. 22, 1957 W. M- THOMPSON, JR., ETAL FILM PERFORATING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 WILL/AM M THOMPSON JR MAR T /N KRON 8. SMITH DAV/0 TORS July 12, 1960 W. M. THOMPSON, JR, ETAL FILM PERFORATING MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1957 Fig. 3

6 Sheets-Sheet 3 WILLIAM M THOMPSON JR MART/N KRO/V DAVID 5. SMITH INVENT R5 A T TORIVE Y3 July 12, 1960 Filed Nov. 22, 1957 W. M. THOMPSON, JR, EI'AL FILM PERFORATING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 WILL/AM M. THOM PSOIV JR.

MART/IV KRO/V DAV/D 8. SM r INVE O ATTORNEYS July 12, 1960 ETAL FILM PERFORATING MACHINE.

W. M. THOMPSON, JR.

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 22, 1957 il l nu lul II II WILL/AM M THOMPSON JR MAR T M! KRON DAV/D 5. 8554771 INVE n BY I ,Jzfi W. M

A TTORNEYS July 12, 1960 w. M. THOMPSON, JR, ETAL 2,944,457

FILM PERFORATING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 22, 1957 United FILM William M. Thompsomfln, Kron, and Davids;

Smith, Rochester, N.Y., assignors toEastman Kodak Company, RochesteryN a corporation of New Jersey 1 I I,

ired Nov. 22, 1951; Ser. No. 6985233 I Claims. 01. 83-221) This invention relates generally to perforatingmech anisms and more specifically to a film perforatingmachine adapted to punch out a series of identifying numbers across a web of photographic film so that the individual narrow strips of film that are slit from the parent .web can later be identified as having come from that particular web.

Several methods have been used heretofore to identify the individual strips of film that are slit from the parent adapted fto form a loop offilin and to punch out identifying number's through thelojop.

Fig; 3 'is a segmental side elevation view of the film perforatingmechanism and slitting machine; I

-Fig. 4 is'a segmental elevation view of a portion of thefilin perforating mechanism-of Fig. 3 looking at it from line 4-4;

web. One of such methods incorporates an adhesive strip or decalcomania extending across the width of the film and having numbers thereon to identify the individual' strips slit from the parent web. This method is not entirely successful in that the adhesive bond existing between the decalcomania and the web is not permanent enough, often drying up or losing its adhesive strength causing the decalcomania tofall off of the Web. 7 A simpler system for identifying .the individual strips ofzfilm slit from the parent webutilizes the application to the individual strips of identifying marks made by a grease;

pencil. This system is disadvantageous in that it 'neces} marks, and is further objectionable inthat the marks are often illegible since the operator has 'to Work in almost total I darkness; 'A'nother mechanism for identifying the f individual strips offilm slit from the par'entfiwebgc o'rnfE .pri'ses arolle'rhaving a plurality of axially'spaged nuirif" I sitatesthe services of an operator to apply thegr ease 1 bers-on its periphery adapted tofapply identifying ink marks across the width of the film, This mechanisiri' is" I are not permanent enough, often rubbingoif of the film; and the ink is often applied too heavily'causing the ink I I sageway 12 comprises a tuck bar18 secured at'ea'ch end' to the underside of arec'tangular support member 19 as not toosatisfactory, primarily because the ink numbers to run over the film resulting in filmspoila'ge. Furthermore, the problem exists of select'ing an ink that is 1com patible with the film. v I I Therefore, one'of the objects of the present invention is to provide an'improved film "perforator mechanism adapted to punch out a series of identifying numbers across the width of a web of photographic film that elimi-' nates'all the disadvantages of prior known methods or mechanisms. 7

Another object ofthis invention is the provision'of a i ZZ'adapted toride in a generally U-shaped channel mem-- film per'forator mechanism for punching out a series of f identifying numbers across the width of aweb of. p h0t0 graphic film that is simple in construction; thoroughly' manufacture.

Stilla'nother object of this invention is the provision I of an improved film perforating mechanism'of rugged} construction adapted'to withstand'long continuous service with a I minimum of maintenance and adjustment,

- eliableand' efiicient in operation,. and, economical to One more object offthis invention is the provision off animproved fihn perforatingmechanism in whic h the.

numbers punched but of the film ican'beread 1 Q invention is the provisibn br" animprovel perroratmgimechanisin Fig; 5 is aside elevation view of the structure of Fig. 4 with a portion thereof broken olf and sectioned;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged -perspective view of the channel and support members shown in Figs. 2 and 4. I I

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit of the film perforating mechanism; and

'Fig. 8 is a reduced rear' elevation view in perspective of the structure of Fig. 5.

I As shown in the drawings, particularly Fig. 3, a preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated as applied to a slitting machinel of. known type having a' supply roll 2, idler rollers 3, a' metering drum 4, a plurality of slitter knives 5, and a take-up roll 6.

I The film perforating mechanism shown generally at 7 is provided with spaced apart frame members 8 secured to the slitting'machine by any suitable means, not

thefilm. Thep'unche's 15 are provided'fwith shoulders '16, and 'a-strippr plate '1'7secured or ycar'ried by the; I pressure plate .14 is adapted to engage the shoulders'16 of'tIre punc-hes 15 to withdraw'them from the film' 13.

'perforator structure is a' commercial item a'nd the operationth'ereof is essentially'as'shownand'desc'ribed in ULSi-Patent 2,330,997. I I a I The mechanism fordrawingthe=film 13 into the pas best seen in Fig. 6. Each of the support members 19 has a pair of spaced-apart studsV ZI-for supporting rollers ber 23 carried by the mechanism 7. The support members 19 are further provided with a stud 24 for receiving an eye-bolt 25 secured to one end ofa rod 26, the oppo site end of the rod 26 being mounted on a stud 27ca'rried" by an arm'28'as seen in Fig. 5. Theopposite end of the arm 28 is keyed to a'cylindrical rod '29rjnoi1nted for rotation within bearings carried by the frame members 8L A crank 31 is' sec ured to 'the 'cylindrical rodadjacent one f of theiarms 28 as"seen1in Figs. 5-'and- 8, and the op'po f site: end of the crank BMI -is secured by a boltit'o one end 1 ofa piston rod 32 of a double-acting cylinder 33 of a well known commercial type The'opposite end off the air'cylinder 33 is pivotally movable "on a-ho'lt 34 carried by-the upper end ofthe frame member 8; It is readily'apparent that-movement of .a piston 35 which is 'secured;,to the;.Piston' rod 32. in one :directionorjthe otheris transmitted through thetcrank 3'1,*arm.28; and

is V reciprocally r rod 26to1thesnpport member lSi which movable withinthelchannelmembers 23. v

EI atent ed July'12, 1960 'Figf; is a view similarlto-Fig l showing the position of tIiefiIm' with respect to the perforator mechanism;

elongated cylindrical memben36 pivotally mounted'on a hanfl rigidly, ecured.ateachendto. oneoitherfranleo members 8 as best seen in Fig. 5. The cylindrical member 36 is provided on one sidewith a pair of arms having ifurcat d-tendon as s nz-inzF'gt'.on y ne .of is shown, for receiving oneen ,linlememberfiQ;

runcated end 3-85 and, linlomemberi 39; to .-pivot lly.rsecure; the two together. The; opposite, end; (ti-the; Ii 39- is 1 pivotally secured to the pressure plate 14 which cally movahlebywirtue of bushings. 41 carried ayplate; slidahly disposedmnicomplementaryr s ide; rods. 42,. only one of which is shown. The opposite: iderofithsz yl n ri al: m mber; .;6 is; also: provided, with; a n il: f

arrnsahaving bifuroatedgcnfi 4-3. aslseen illifi-g8QlitI63 ceiving oneend; of. a; piston. rod 44twhich ,is, piyotally secured thereto. Themo-ppositeendrattire-rod 44- issej cured to apiston 45; of a; double act-ing .air cylinder 46 of; a, known,commercial,typ e.-. It is: again, apparent ;that7 reciprocal movement of the piston 45 and piston .ro.d:,44 will imparta reciprocal movement to the pressure plate 14 byvirtueof. the cylindricalmember 36,-. arms ,3.8,.and link member 39, causing the punches 15 to be; urged downwardly and upwardly.

A.mechanism-torpproviding slackflin the film web 13;to permit the tuck bar 18r to. draw aeloop of filmjntothe; passageway 12 ofi therperforating mechanism, without damaging the film is shown in Figshl .and"3. The mecha: nismcornprises a crank fi-mountedbn ashaft ,48-car-ried by .flangesy49.secured tothe framemcmbersS. Arms 53. are mounted on the shait 48.an d the freeends of the-.- arms 53 carry, a. rotatable, cylindrical rod 54-. Pivotal; movement of the crank 46- by a lever 55; causes pivotal. movement, of the arms.53, bringing the,.1'.od-54 intov engagement with thefilmr The air cylinders,33,,46 are-operated by-a:,suitable;; source of air pressure, and are further. provided with; solenoid. operated air valves, 56, ot any known come merical, type as seen, in Fig 8,1011.controllingthe admit-i tance of. air. pressure to. cheer theaothea sideof; the,

pistons 35, 45through suitable-air hosesz-40 fonrecipro cally moving the pistons,

The, automatic operation: of the perforating mecha-- nism 7. is accomplished. electric-ally astshownschematical ly; in-Eig; 7. A, plurality ofmicroswitches are actuated, 1

by. various components o-f the rneohanism. 'I'he-cyliu drical member 3 61asseen-in1Fig. 8-.hasr-a ri-h- STfOrmed on one side thereof provided,withadjusting screws 58, 59; adapted to engage and actuate a microswitch S rat-one; end ofits travel and a microswitchS at the opposite end ofits travel. The cylindrical rod ,29 is -provided with a;

pair of cams 61,62 adapted, to -actuate-.microswitches,S

and 5. respectively for a purpose to be; explained herein: after, Apair-ofimicroswitches S andS arecarriedzby the-mechanism 7 adjacent one; end ofthetchannel. meme. bers. 23 and are; actuable, by; lugs; 63; as seenxin;;Fig. 6: formed by the support members :19-as; thetsupport mem: bersarrive at-onc; end-of their,.travel. Eleotrical relay R controls anelectrical ,contaot C notshown; carried 1. by theslitting machine, relay 1R controls: contacts C C and C and relay R {controls .the: electricali contact designated C The mechanism is further; provided -:w.i=th; a solenoidi T adaptedtoactuate; one of the air valves: 56 to admit Pall? pressure tolthe: cyl-inderriil causingthes: piston35, to move whichiimturngmoves the tuck-.2 18 ,inwardly 'oroutwardly; depending upon: the 5 direction. of ,movement-oflme piston- 35; A similar solenoid; T

tape;

is provided for aetuatingttherother i air valve:56.admitting air pressure to cyli1nders::46; causing: the: pistons to' move :W-hichjn'; turn :moveszthe pressure: plate=14downwardly to push the :punchesels ithrough the-loop offilr'n 13..or upwardly: Withdrawing the punches 15* dependingupon the-direction of movement of the pistons, 452- To describe the filmperforating mechanismfi ofthiS' invention let us-assurneinitially that "the film perforating nosition,. the slitting machine .1. is op.erating-rand...the. film,

web 13 is interposed between the tuck bar 18 and perforating mechanism 7 out of contact with any part of the perforating mechanism. This is necessary because contact of the moving film web 13 by any portion of the perforating mechanism 7 f-rni-ghtamar or scratch or otherwise damagelthenfilmwebk Nowrletruslassume that the operator has-slit'a' predetermined"numbero t feet of film 13a and wishes tospunch, out identifying; numbers v,or. ins-- dicia. across; the: entirexwidthiof the: film zwebs so that: in latcrr operationspthez. individual. stripsamayxbe: identified with respect to the parent film web from whic'lr they originated. 'I wospaced apart startswitchesss are provided on the machine, one of which is sliown schematically in Fig. 7, requiring-theaoperatorrtosuse;hoth hands, one for each switch, to start the perforating mechanism 7. An interlock system is provided so that if the operator were, to press the start blltllOHSrSq to: start.thfe:perforating mechanism 7-7: whilethe slit-ting, machine- 11 is 2 operating;.. the. 14 ,er forating v mechanism will.: not start. Also=,=, if the;- operator. attempts to start the slitting, machine 11 while the perforating mechanism: is operating, the;slitting;ma-. chine will not start. When; theslittingmachine '1-is-in; operation, the relay R is operative opening the-contactr C Consequently, as long as the slitting;machine:1.is;in operation, the perforatorrnechanismcannot beoperatedn Also, when they perforating mechanism is operating, the; relay R actuates the contact C of the slitting nnachinesom thatitcannot be startedasllong as the-perforating mocha nisxn is operating Assumingthe- -slitting.;machine- Lhasa been, stopped. and. the contact, C closed, the operator; initiallypulls lever SSVpivotally movingcrank 46 acausin gi; the arms 53..aud rod54- to pivotally movetherewithwith; therod54 engaging the stopped fi1m13rand urgingsthefilm-inwardly'to-provide a loop of film substantially-freer, of tension on one side of the perforatormechanism 72 as seen in Fig, 3.v The operator then grasps-thezfilm1.1?1. from the supply rollZv andv pulls it to for-manotherloop;

free of. tension on the opposite side- Accordingly sufei ficient slackin the-film 13 is'provided so .that the tuclnt bar, 18 can draw atloop of filminto.thepassageway 12;v

' ottheperforator mechanism 7 easily; and withouttdamer agingthe filmy-1 3. The operatorthen: presses thezstartz SO1HOEldTTithrough the closed. contact C and closetL punch sWitchS The tuck bar solenoid T1 actuatesoneaof the air valves .56 admitting-air pressure to thecylindert: 33, causingthe piston 35 toymove downwardly as:slnmur:

in'Fig, 5. and causing the tuck bar 18 to: be: movedn inwardlyw by virtuesof-the pistonrod 3'2;,crank},31,,arnrx 28,. rod 26 and support member 19. Initial .movementof,

the cylindrical rod 2% and cam 61 causesswitch S ,;t0

caught'rbet-ween thetuck bar, 18 and the-throat of. the! passageway 12. When the tuck bar 18 reaches-the: end. of its travel inwardly, the lugs 63-.ot the snppor-tmernbers 19 closetheswitchesS and S completing the eleca; tricalcircuit through .contaotsC C and switches S S and S to a solenoid T The, solenoid T nactuatest the other two-way valve, sdcausingnair pressurertobe admitted to one sideof the pistons. 45 causing vthe pistons 45, piston rods 44', cylindrical memben36, ,arms..38, ,li nln. 39 andpressure' plate 14 to be urgedjin. adirectibn $031151.

ingthe punches 15 topass through .theloopof filmdrawn 7 into thepassageway 12 by the tuck bar 18,: Atter thep.

initial movement of the cylindrical member 36, the switch 7 S is moved from its position in contact with element E1, into contact with element E thereby bypassing the normally closed contact C When the pressure plate 14 has reached the bottom of its stroke, the cylindrical member 36 closes switch S establishing an electrical circuit through contact C switches S S S S and S to the relay coil R The relay coil R when energized opens the contacts C and C which are normally closed, and closes the contact C which is normally open. This electrically seals in the relay coil R through contacts C 8;; and C Further, the opening of the normally closed contacts C and C breaks the electrical circuit to the solenoid T The de-energization ofthe solenoid T actuates air valve 56 causing the pressure plate 14 to move upwardly or in the opposite direction which at the beginning of its movement opens switch S The relay coil R however, stays energized because it is sealed in by the closed contact C as mentioned heretofiore. As the pressure plate 14 completes its movement, it moves switch S into its original position in contact with element E This breaks the electrical circuit through the solenoid T which actuates the air valve 56 causing the piston 35 to move the tuck bar 18 outwardly to collapse the loop. As the cylindrical rod 29 and earns 61, 62 are turned in moving the tuck bar 18 outwardly, the cam 62 actuates switch 8.; moving it to an open position, and as the tuck bar 18 reaches its rest position, the cam 61 engages switch S opening it and breaking the electrical circuit to relay coil R causing the contact C to open. Also, the relay coil R is de-energized closing the normally closed contacts C and C and opening the normally open contact C At this time, the punches 15 are fully retracted, the tuck bar 18 fiully withdrawn, and the perforating mechanism 7 in its original non-operating position.

. 6 necting said piston to said support members whereby the reciprocal movement of said piston is imparted to said support members.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said linkage means comprises a shaft, a crank mounted on said shaft and having one end connected to the piston rod, a pair of spaced apart arms mounted on said shaft, and a pair of rod members, each of said rod members connecting an end of one of said arms to one of said support members.

7. In a perforating machine, the combination of: a punch holder; a plurality of punches slidably carried by said holder; a die plate spaced from said punch holder to form a passageway of predetermined length for receiving a material to be punched; an elongated bar parallel to and in the same plane as said passageway and further having a length greater than said predetermined length; a support member secured to each end of said Although but one embodiment has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a perforating machine, the combination of: a punch holder; a plurality of punches slidably carried by said holder; a die plate spaced from said punch holder to form a passageway for rmeiving a material to be punched; means reciprocally movable within said passageway to draw said material therein in the term of a loop; and means for reciprocally operating said punches in timed relation to said first recited means whereby said punches pass through said loop of material.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said first recited means comprises a bar. V

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said first recited means comprises an elognated bar, a support member secured to each end of said bar, guide means for reciprocally receiving said support members, and means for imparting reciprocal movement to said bar and support members.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said support member carries rollers, and said guide means comprise channel members tor slidably receiving said rollers.

5 The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said last recited means comprises a cylinder having a piston responsive to air pressure, and linkage means for conbar; roller means carried by said support members; a pair of channel members carried by said perforating machine, each of said channel members disposed adjacent one end of said passageway and transverse thereto and adapted. to slidably receive one of said roller means; first means for imparting reciprocal movement to said bar and support members and adapted when said bar and support member are moved in one direction to draw said material within said passageway in the form of a loop; and second means for reciprocally operating said punches in timed relation to said bar whereby said punches pass wthroughsaid loop of material.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7 wherein said first means comprises a cylinder having a piston responsive to pressure, and linkage means for connecting said piston to said support members whereby the reciprocal movement of said piston is imparted to said support members.

9. The invention as defined in claim 8 wherein said linkage means comprises a shaft, a crank mounted on of material therein, second switch means actuated by said support members after said bar has completed its inward movement drawing the loop of material past the punches to cause said second means to move said punches in one direction through said passageway and loop of material, third switch means actuated by said second means after said punches have passed through said loop causing said second means to move said punches in said opposite direction out of said passageway, and fourth switch means actuated by said second means after said punches are withdrawn trom said passageway to cause said first means to move in the opposite direction with drawing said bar from said passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

